Honeydew Honey Has Excellent Antioxidant Properties, Says Study

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The most exotic kind of honey in the world is called the honeydew honey. It has various different names like forest honey or myelate. This honey is produced from a sugar-rich sticky liquid secreted by aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects called honeydew, which is where it gets its name from. Apis mellifera, or western honeybee, produces this special type of honey.

Honeydew honey has a very rich fragrance, which is very similar to stewed fruit or fig jam. It is not as sweet as nectar honey, and is dark brown in color. Typically, its pH values are higher, shows higher electrical conductivity, has overall higher content of disaccharides, trisaccharides, and lower level of monosaccharides.

It is not a very popular kind of honey in most regions. Beekeepers find it difficult to sell it because of its strong flavors. However, it is very popular in countries like Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Serbia, and California in the United States.

Dr. Keegan Jonathan Chessum and his colleagues in the Department of Food Science and Microbiology at the Auckland University of Technology claim that the demand for honeydew honey is on the rise. Its potential antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties is the main reason for its growing demand from both the consumers and the food industry. “However, information on the chemical profile of honeydew honey remains scant, particularly on New Zealand honeydew honey.”

A recent study, which was published in the journal Food Research International conducted a comprehensive chemical analysis of New Zealand honeydew honey which is produced directly from honeybees. They feed on nectar that is exuded by an insect species called the sooty beech scale (Ultracoelostoma assimile).

They identified its chemical makeup, antioxidant activity as well as mineral, sugar, phenolic and amino acid profiles.

The antioxidant activity of New Zealand honeydew honey is very similar to numerous studies already conducted on Manuka honey. The Manuka honey is widely considered as the ‘gold standard’ for its antioxidant activity,” they said.

“This clearly indicated that New Zealand honeydew honey indeed had excellent antioxidant properties.”

The study was published in the journal Food Research International.